Cologne

Cologne and perfume are two of the strangest items that are frequently imitated and sold on grey markets. At budget stores and flea markets, fake scents are practically always present. They frequently even have packaging that resembles that of real scents; they may even utilize the name of the original fragrance while adding "inspired by" or a similar phrase. Additionally, there are some that buy overstock and sell it at a loss. These two are both legitimate gray market goods.

Gray market perfumes are disliked by manufacturers due to both the obvious potential commercial loss from knockoffs as well as the brand damage caused by outdated stock. If your authentic cologne is more than five years old, it may have undergone significant deterioration. Anyone who purchases it will likely receive a fragrance that is not what the maker intended and is mildly offensive. Now that buyer will believe the scent is strange and have a negative view.

Fragrances can be easily purchased abroad at huge reductions and then resold in the US, much like other products. It is clear that manufacturers dislike this. The allure is that scents are frequently astronomically costly. It is astounding to compare a knockoff to the genuine article. Genuine goods can frequently cost tens or even hundreds of times more. Sometimes, but not usually, the quality matches that price. It could also be a markup simply to pay for the name.